I
Standing where I once stood, once larked,
Fresh in youthful eyes and heart,
Exuberant games with friendly faces,
The only faces I had known, experienced,
Navigating the native neighborhoods,
Fragile recall. Mind’s tainted eye.

III
Standing where I once stood, once lived,
This dhamma body drinks Messiah’s blood,
Ravishing the earth corrupted heavenly
Host, that rages hot, then cold with each
Passing prayer, and tempts old bones to
False resurrection. Soul deceived.

Love Held Tight
With love held tight in hearts embrace,
Would’st the scent of love be enough,
Should a whisper fulfill our finest grace,
Or will full storm of voices be raised,
With longing left far behind on shrinking shore,
‘Till neither you nor I falter in hesitant dark,
And all our days they flower into this, this honest moment,
Where secret words weave their prophetic spells,
And tenderness holds sway over doubt filled years,
Yet no love song, nor pure sonnet can compare,
With love held tight in hearts embrace.